On Fri, 08 Jun 2007 07:52:40 -0500, jangchub
wrote:

On Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:15:10 -0500, Treedweller
wrote:


PS How does this jibe with your no-kill buddhism? I'm seriously
asking, though I can see how this might sound like a smart-ass quip.
If you decide to keep the tree, a qualified arborist can evaluate the
risk and help you find ways to mitigate.

A tree is not a sentient being that we know of. It does not have
consciousness. While Buddhists believe a consciousness can reside in
a tree, which would be considered one of the hell realms, trees are
not sentient.

We are constantly killing every time we breath. There isn't an atom
of space where a sentient being is. When we walk, we crush insects,
when we shower we kill bacterial, etc. If we are mndful of the lives
we take daily, we purify with sincerity for anything you killed
without knowing, or

Why do you consider taking out a tree as going against Buddhism and
the tenet of no killing?

F
What can I say? I'm a tree guy. They live and grow, so removing them
kills a living thing (notwithstanding the fact that it's awfully hard
to kill a hackberry). Also, they serve as habitat for untold other
critters. I talk to them as I work, and at times I feel like I get
an answer. I have a bumper sticker (cut-and-pasted from "Keep Austin
Reading" library stickers) that says "I speak tree." For those who
may be wondering about my sanity now, I acknowledge being less than
100% serious.

Since you surely know most people think the idea that a bug may be
sentient is wacko, this doesn't seem like such a stretch to me. But
I'm not trying to judge you--I was just curious.

k